Doha, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Hou Kun has been a little busy lately, first going to Qatar to watch the men's Asian Cup, and then to South Korea to watch the Winter Youth Olympic Games. This inadvertent "tandem" has given the Asian Cup and the Winter Youth Olympic Games, two competitions that were not much related, a different kind of "air linkage".
Hou Kun is a member of the IOC's Culture and Olympic Heritage Committee, and it is in this capacity that he has been able to observe several sports up close, including football.
Hou Kun's match for the Chinese team in the Asian Cup in Qatar. He watched the opening ceremony, opening match and the first match of the Chinese team in this Asian Cup, and also watched the 2022 Men's World Cup and the 2023 Women's World Cup, with the aim of seeking similarities and differences between football and other sports from these football competitions, learning from each other and developing together. Every time he goes to a competition, he will pay attention to the display and inheritance of culture, the embodiment of intellectual property rights, the development of licensed products, the organization and atmosphere of the competition, etc.
His subsequent trip to Gangwon-do was a continuation of his plan to visit all Olympic cities and promote Olympic culture.
For the Asian Cup and the Winter Youth Olympic Games, Hou Kun's deepest feeling is that it develops in inheritance.
Heritage utilization. Seven of the nine stadiums in the Asian Cup in Qatar are World Cup venues in Qatar, including the Khalifa International Stadium, which also hosted the opening ceremony of the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. Coincidentally, seven of the nine venues for the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon Province were also PyeongChang. Even in many venues and intersections, the mascots of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and Paralympics are still on display – it is said that the mascot of this year's Winter Youth Olympic Games, "Moe Geo", is a snowball thrown by the two mascots of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics during a snowball fight.
The PyeongChang Winter Olympics mascot placed outside the Winter Youth Olympic Games venue. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ji Ye "The Asian Cup venues are well utilized, and these venues have been tested by the World Cup. Moreover, 2022 is a short time ago, which is an efficient use. "After the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics, the Gangwon Province Winter Youth Olympic Games were held for the first time in six years, making full use of the legacy of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics without a long interval. ”
In Hou Kun's view, this kind of short-term heritage utilization is a great saving of resources. For example, he also said that less than two months after the end of the Hangzhou Asian Games, the BWF World Tour Finals was held at the Asian Games venue, and the event has been settled here for four consecutive years; Many venues of the Chengdu Universiade will also be used for the World Games a year later.
By undertaking events, especially competitions, these legacies can be better passed on and utilized. Hou Kun said.
Qatar is a big fan of sports competitions. In addition to this Asian Cup, Qatar will also host the 2030 Asian Games. Looking at the 2024 calendar alone, Qatar will host 85 international events, with an average of one event every four days.
Hou Kun at the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon Province. Why is Qatar so keen on sports competitions? Hou Kun believes that: first, to promote its tourism consumption; the second is to improve the construction of urban infrastructure; The third is to use sports, a relatively soft way, to better integrate with the world and enhance the country's image and international influence.
Talent inheritance. Hou Kun said that as far as he knows, the team for the opening ceremony of the Asian Cup is from the team of the World Cup, and the same is true for the event team, they all know how to do the game, how to allocate personnel, how to manage the venue, how to design the circulation line, how to use the visual image, how to do security, etc. "These are all effective inheritance of talents. He said.
The reporter found that the traffic lines, some signs, and parking lot locations of many stadiums in the Asian Cup follow the settings of the World Cup.
Many members of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee team are from the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee; Hu Liming, who served as the deputy director of the market development department of the Executive Board of the Shenzhen Universiade Organizing Committee, has become a market development consultant for the Chengdu Universiade.
On January 26, Zhang Hong, Chairman of the IOC Gangwon Province Winter Youth Olympic Games Coordination Committee, attended the Winter Youth Olympic Games Alpine Skiing Medal Ceremony as a guest of honor. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ming China's first Winter Olympics speed skating champion Zhang Hong is also a typical example. At PyeongChang, she struggled with a knee injury and was unable to recreate her Sochi victory, ending her career as an athlete and starting a new phase when she was elected to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the closing day of the Games. Six years later, she returned to the city as president of the IOC's Gangwon Province Winter Youth Olympic Games Coordination Committee.
Just like the slogan of the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games, "Grow Together, Shine Forever", Zhang Hong has also grown with the Olympic Games in the past six years. Her experience will also inspire more people to join in.
Hou Kun himself is also an example of talent inheritance. In 2007, Hou Kun became a volunteer of the World Olympic Collection Expo, and since then he has formed a fate with the Olympic Games and gradually embarked on the road of promoting Olympic culture. "The Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games are my ninth Olympic Games. ”
Fresh. The purpose of the IOC's establishment of the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is to build a stage for young people to "take off", a platform for communication and exchange and inheritance of Olympic values, and to share the joy and glory of the Olympic family. At the Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games, 1,802 young athletes aged 14-18 from around the world gathered under the Five Rings.
China's Gu Ailing at the women's freestyle skiing halfpipe final award ceremony at the 3rd Winter Youth Olympic Games on January 20, 2020. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Yang Hou Kun said that freestyle skier Gu Ailing won the championship at the Lausanne Winter Youth Olympic Games, and then won two golds and one silver at the Beijing Winter Olympics; Taekwondo athlete Cheng Shuyin won gold at the Singapore Youth Olympic Games and went on to become Olympic champion in Rio. The Youth Olympic Games and the Winter Youth Olympic Games not only provide opportunities for young athletes from around the world to compete and interact with each other, but also promote Olympic values such as excellence, friendship and respect.
The Asian Cup is a stage for many young players to gain experience and gain experience, and some players have even begun to show their edge, such as Vietnam's Nguyen Dinh Bei. "Their value will be discovered by more people, and their growth stories and training systems will also be noticed. Hou Kun said.
The positioning of the Winter Youth Olympic Games has determined the emergence of many "firsts".
At the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon Province, athletes from many countries and regions made their Olympic debuts, such as the speed skating event, which saw four Portuguese athletes for the first time. Tunisian bobsleigh athlete Lujmi took up bobsleigh for just one year before he won his country's first-ever Winter Youth Olympic medal. In curling, Nigeria struggled to win a single game, and even lost every game, but every throw and every score they made history because it was the first time that an African team participated in a curling competition at ......the Winter Youth Olympic Games
In the Asian Cup, the Indonesian team reached the round of 16 for the first time in history, and the Tajikistan team reached the quarterfinals in the first Asian Cup main event, and is even expected to go further. They are either new forces or new faces, and together they contribute to the overall progress of Asian football.
On January 28, Tajikistan players celebrate their team's advance to the quarterfinals. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Han Young people represent the future. The IOC launched the Winter Youth Olympic Games to attract more young people's attention and participation, and the upcoming esports Olympics will have the same purpose.
Hou Kun said that there is a very important reform of the Winter Youth Olympic Games, that is, for the first time, athletes are allowed to post no more than 2 minutes of audio on their personal social accounts, involving occasions such as the opening and closing ceremonies, the Olympic Village, competition venues and training venues, etc., this innovation will help expand the influence of the Winter Youth Olympic Games.
The same goes for football. FIFA, AFC and other international football organizations have also been narrowing the distance with young people through some new means, so that more young people pay attention to the World Cup and the Asian Cup, like and participate in football.
Hou Kun also said that from the Asian Cup in Qatar to the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon Province, it is through sports to promote exchanges between countries and people, promote world peace and development, and also promote the promotion of national brands and the export of culture, "This is a very beautiful thing."